Study shows Montana teens are choosing marijuana over cigarettes

Currently, Montana is one of the 15 states that has legalized marijuana for medicinal purposes. Moreover, recent data from the Monitoring the Future survey shows that children are using more of this substance than cigarettes unlike years past, the Billings Gazette reports.

School officials from Skyview High School told the news source that the mixed message about the medicinal marijuana is a large part of the problem. Data shows that for the first time since 1981, the number of high school students using marijuana in the 30 days prior to the study outnumbered those who reported smoking cigarettes during the same timeframe.

Recent research presented at Neuroscience 2010 found that people who start using marijuana at a young age are more at risk of developing cognitive impairments when compared to those who do not.

However, many drug prevention organizations cite parents and peers as key factors for children's decision to use marijuana. Furthermore, they added that adults need to take a more proactive stance regarding substance abuse during the adolescent years because it could potentially keep them from using these drugs into adulthood.

According to the 2009 Youth Risk Behavior Survey, approximately 21 percent of students between grades 8 and 12 reported using marijuana in the 12 months leading up to the study.